Recently, there is a saying circulating on the Internet, that is, "China and Russia have fallen out". The root of this claim is mainly because Rossellexporter RAO has raised tariffs on electricity exports to China, which has triggered an impasse in negotiations between China and Russia, and even led to Russia's restrictions on electricity to China**. Does this mean that there is a rift in the cooperative relationship between China and Russia?
In fact, this statement is unfounded, just some people's speculation or a deliberate exaggeration by Western countries. The cooperative relationship between China and Russia is not simply an "American-style ally", but is based on the interests and respect of both sides, and will not be shaken by some economic problems. Although China and Russia have conducted joint military exercises, they are not military alliances, but are aimed at maintaining regional peace and stability. My country has always adhered to the principle of non-alignment and will not easily get involved in conflicts with other countries.
So, why does our country import electricity from Russia?This is because of history and cost. In the first decade, China is in an important stage of construction, when the power generation technology is not advanced enough, hydropower and thermal power can not meet the national electricity demand, often there is a shortage of electricity, sometimes even to sacrifice residential electricity to ensure industrial electricity. Especially in the north of our country, which is a heavy industrial area, but it is not suitable for the development of hydropower, and can only rely on thermal power, which not only leads to a shortage of electricity, but also causes environmental pollution. Moreover, at that time, China did not have the technology to transmit ultra-high voltage electricity, and could not transmit electricity from the south to the north, so it could only purchase electricity from Russia, which was a more effective solution.
Russia's electricity, compared with other countries, is relatively cheap, and the geographical location is relatively close, so China imports about 3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from Russia every year. However, with the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States kicked Russia out of the dollar settlement system, which brought great difficulties to Russia's exports**, and also made the exchange rate of the ruble sharply**. In response to this situation, the Russian side has taken a number of countermeasures, one of which is to raise tariffs on a number of goods, including electricity. The Russian side stipulates that when the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar exceeds 80:1, a tariff of 4 -7 will be charged on some goods.
This policy is not only aimed at European countries, but also against China. European countries are highly dependent on Russian energy, especially in terms of energy, so they do not dare to give up buying energy from Russia even while supporting Ukraine. The Russian side used this to offset the US sanctions. And China, as Russia's "main foreign trade partner", has also inevitably been affected. The Russian power export company RAO directly raised the tariff on electricity exports to China to 7, which is the highest level, which greatly increases the cost of electricity in our country.
In response to this situation, our country and the Russian side have held many negotiations in an attempt to reach a reasonable **, but without success. Rao's top brass said in an interview that since the two sides did not reach an agreement, they would limit electricity to China from October. As soon as this news came out, it aroused the attention of many people, and some people even believed that this was an escalation of contradictions between China and Russia and a signal of "a falling out between China and Russia".
In fact, this view is too exaggerated, the power cooperation between China and Russia is just a normal business behavior, both sides have the right to fight for the best conditions for their own interests, this is a normal "bargaining" process, will not affect the friendly relations between China and Russia, let alone lead to "China and Russia falling out". As the old saying goes, "buying and selling does not make benevolence and righteousness", and the cooperation between China and Russia will not change because of some small things.
Of course, this also raises a question for us, that is, whether China should establish a stronger independent power generation system, especially in the northeast region, which can not only reduce dependence on imported electricity, but also solve the problems left over from history, and also promote the development of the industrial economy in the northeast. It's a question worth pondering, what are your thoughts on it?